Deserving the HEA – Maggie Robinson

Andrew Rossiter has used his gorgeous body and angelic face for all they’re worth—shocking the proper, seducing the willing, and pleasuring the wealthy. But with a tiny son depending on him for rescue, suddenly discretion is far more important than desire. He’ll have to bury his past and quench his desires—fast. And he’ll have to find somewhere his deliciously filthy reputation hasn’t yet reached…

…into seduction

Miss Gemma Peartree seems like a plain, virginal governess—or so she hopes. True, she has a sharp wit and sharper tongue, but handsome Mr. Ross wouldn’t notice Gemma herself. Or so she hopes. No matter how many sparks fly between them, she has too much to hide to catch his eye. But with the storms of a Scottish winter driving them together, it will be hard to keep her secrets. Keeping her hands to herself might prove entirely impossible…

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Master of Sin releases today! Some of you might remember the exclusive excerpt that was up on a Teaser Tuesday last month. MOS features damaged hero Andrew Rossiter and Gemma Peartree, a determined governess who teaches him that he is worthy of love. She’s a big believer in Fate, for why else would she wind up on an isolated Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides with such a man if not to change both their lives?

If you read Mistress by Marriage, you’ve already met Andrew—beautiful, corrupt, yet with his own kind of honor. He has no expectations of ever being truly happy. Being normal. His life’s goal thus far has been to make others satisfied, and if he experiences a moment or two of pleasure himself, all the better. But his world is upended by an assassin and the need to rescue his toddler son from certain death.

Amoral Andrew is no one’s idea of a father. And to make matters worse, the boy speaks only Italian. No matter how well-meaning Andrew is, he cannot even communicate with his own child. He needs an Italian-speaking governess, and Gemma, the daughter of an Italian courtesan, fits the bill.

Both Gemma and Andrew have made mistakes and lived to regret them. But here’s what Andrew thinks in the very last chapter:

Normal. His heart stuttered, corrected and resumed its steady tick. “I’m not a normal man, Gemma.”

“No,” she said, “you’re not. You’re so much better.”

Andrew shut his eyes. He knew nearly perfect happiness at this moment, in bed with his wife, his newest child, Marc dozing next to him. He’d never trade one misstep of his past if it meant being robbed of this present. Present in terms of time, present in terms of the gifts that had been bestowed upon him. He’d been bent and hammered, torn and mended. With Gemma beside him, he’d been given another life. In this new incarnation, anything at all was possible.

Sigh. Andrew definitely deserves his HEA after all I put him through. :)

I’ve got a signed copy of Master of Sin for one commenter. Do you sneak ahead and read the last chapter of a book? Or are you mad at me because I included an excerpt from it? ;)

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For more info about Master of Sin, visit www.maggierobinson.net. And don’t forget to comment for your chance to win. Good luck!

55 Responses

in my younger days (cough, cough) I would read the end of the book first. Boy did I catch it from my family. So now i am doing better and waiting for the ending to come after I read it from the beginning. No I’m not upset that I got a glimpse of the HEA. I’m glad to know that he does get his HEA after all he’s been through. It’s what he goes through which makes it so much better in the end.

It depends on the book. Sometimes I skip ahead, and sometimes I don’t. I love the excerpt you put up. It makes me want to read this book even more. I am even going to leave here and check out Mistress by Marriage. Thanks for the great giveaway. :)

I would never ever be mad at any author for including sneak peaks I love them it helps me to decide if I want to read the book or not like a trailer does for a movie.

As for skipping ahead I never do that as it only ruins the book for me I mean if you know that is ends with them say getting married but right throughout the book it does not seem likely that they will get married , so now you skip to the end and see oh they do get married ..what is the point of reading the rest then you just ruin it for yourself and also the author would not have gone through the trouble,blood,sweat and tears to write the book for you if she could have just told you “I have these two characters and the get married.The End”.

“Sneak ahead and read the last chapter of a book…” [gasp] – no, never!
Excerpts on the other hand are tiny bits to torment us until we can get the “real thing”. Absolutely essential tools for authors to tease their readers ;)

This book is on my to-buy list. I sometimes read that last few pages, but not often. I very seldom read the entire last chapter and I don’t mind an excerpt from the last chapter….just whets my whistle for more!

I often read the last 4 or 5 chapters do I know what imgetting myself into. It makes me eager to read the whole story. Weird way to think but it works for me. Thanks for the little sneaky peak of the last chapter. Makes want to read more.

I never read the ending of a story. Even though I pretty much know that there will be a HEA, I don’t know exactly how it will end up. I would rather just read it in order and have the ending be a surprise.

I Never skip to the end and read it – and I usually skip or just skim excerpts because I don’t want to read spoilers. I just like to have a description of the book – a bit more than is on the back cover.

*sigh* Sounds like a well-deserved HEA right there :) Maggie, I rarely sneak a peek at the end–when I do, it’s usually for a book I’m on the verge of not finishing, but I’m curious to see how things turn out. If I mean to read the book, I usually read through without peeking. And I don’t think I’ve peeked on an e-book; only hard copy books!

I do not skip ahead. EVER! But, I’m not mad at you either. I skipped your excerpt and found out about your trickery. I skip excerpts on books that I know I am going to read. I end up wanting to know what happens next and getting really frustrated! Thanks for the giveaway.

I admit that I will sometimes check out the last couple pages (have to make sure there’s a HEA before I invest all my energy into the romance) but not the whole last chapter after all I don’t want it spoiled (confirming a HEA in a romance isn’t spoiling it since it had best have a HEA if it is a romance) :)

I almost always read the ending in advance. although I’ve been trying to break myself of that habit. It’s a lot harder to do with my Kindle, so that has helped me to restrain myself a bit, but even if I don’t actually do it, I always want to.

I confess, I skipped the clip included with this entry! I’ve followed this series from the beginning and no, I NEVER peak at the endings – I’m another one who sees it as “cheating.” I’m dying to read Andrew’s story, it’s at the top of my wishlist.

Mad & Lillie’s RAK RR@H Monthly Book Giveaway

For Authors & Publishers

Calling out to all authors & publishers. As someone who regularly does giveaways on the blog, I'm looking for promo items to include with the book prizes I send out. If you have any spare promo items -- bookmarks, pens, postcards, magnets, etc -- I'd appreciate any you sent my way to share with readers. Feel free to email me at mad@romancereaderatheart.com for my contact info.
Thank you so much!